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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25492642">Wildcard</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreckledSaint/pseuds/FreckledSaint'>FreckledSaint</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Personal Hans Week [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Frozen (Disney Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Epistolary, Family, Gen, Humor, My own lore</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:22:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,919</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25492642</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreckledSaint/pseuds/FreckledSaint</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>My dearest Grandfather,</p><p>I hope that you and Grandmother have been doing well these past few months! I’ve just returned home from Arendelle and thought it prudent to write you a letter with the hopes of enlightening you to the situation; my heart will beat easier if you heard the tale from me rather than from a stranger.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hans &amp; Hans' Grandfather</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Personal Hans Week [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1838899</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Konigsburg, The Southern Isles</p><p>May, 18—</p><p>My dearest Grandfather,</p><p>I hope that you and Grandmother have been doing well these past few weeks! I’ve just returned home from Arendelle and thought it would be prudent to write you a letter with the hopes of enlightening you to the situation; my heart will beat easier if you heard the tale from me rather than from a stranger.</p><p>As I am sure you already know the reasons why I had been chosen to represent our country at the coronation of Queen Elsa, I will not waste paper recounting it. The country is as you have described it to me – a bad sign if you ask me since your last visit to Arendelle was in 1795. Nevertheless, it is a charming country and one rich in natural resources if we are to trust the Duke of Weselton. My interest in particular was piqued. Do you remember the stories my brothers and I came up with as children to explain why we never saw the late King Agnarr and his kin? Who would have thought that Grandmother, who believed him to be paranoid, was correct?</p><p>But more on that later! Upon arrival, I decided to take Sitron out for a ride around town. Poor creature hated the lack of running space aboard and it would do him well to properly exercise after the journey.</p><p>A quarter of an hour had not passed before a young woman of eighteen or nineteen years ran in front of Sitron, who accidentally walked straight into her and sent her tumbling onto a boat (we managed to prevent her fall though!).</p><p>The girl, as you must have guessed, was none other than Princess Anna of Arendelle herself. I’ve no idea why she was out and about by herself, but she was very sweet and very awkward. We spoke briefly, then the church bells rung and the princess dashed towards the cathedral.</p><p>The coronation itself was nothing special. I suppose the highlight was seeing Queen Elsa try to hold the globus cruciger and scepter with gloved hands. Grandfather, correct me if I am wrong but those regal objects must be held by bare hands, yes? I scoured through the etiquette and protocol books available to me and found nothing conclusive. I would normally ask Father and Mother had they not been so busy writing letters to dignitaries (I will get to that in a moment). Still, it was a comical sight and one that I imagine would have left you and your eighteenth-century sensibilities laughing with delight and reeling from impropriety.</p><p>Following the ceremony, we were given a few hours to rest before joining the Queen at the party in honor of her ascension. It was during the said party where I saw my dearly beloved and blessedly distant relation: His Serene Highness, the Duke of Weselton. The old man was accompanied by two lackeys whose names I believe were Erik and Francis. I never regret the Duke’s company – he does have a clever wit – yet I must confess that I nearly choked on champagne when I saw him dancing with the princess.</p><p>After the dance Princess Anna returned to her sister, who stood alone by her throne. The queen must have been disagreeable towards her as she quickly and forlornly returned to the floor. Then a gentleman whom I did not recognize unintentionally shoved her and she would have fallen were it not for me.</p><p>Grandmother will be pleased to know that we danced. Princess Anna’s skills want more delicacy (she is definitely no match to Cousin Klara) but otherwise she was a lovely partner. Considering that I have been, as you put it, in the marriage market since birth, I seized the opportunity to court her. I do not know if you would like as she is not as sophisticated like socialites nor is she a Southern Islander, yet I assure you that she is a cheerful woman. We left the party to have some time to ourselves and I personally could feel the Duke glaring at me.</p><p>We sang, we danced, we went on a very long walk together by the docks and the nearby wilderness, etc. There every little piece of satisfaction and personal charm came together and I proposed to Princess Anna; she accepted. Before you decide to disinherit and beat me I tell you now with God as my witness that nothing has come of this.</p><p>With the princess’ acceptance, we promptly went to ask her sister for her blessing. The queen, I should add, is more of a hermit than dear Cousin Rodrik. Unlike Rodrik – who has a few good friends and suffers us, his family, with relative ease – Queen Elsa appears to have no experience of dealing with a sibling. She did not take well to Anna’s enthusiasm, and she was very enthusiastic. Why, she wanted to invite all twelve of my brothers to Arendelle and refused to speak with Elsa without me!</p><p>Then the most horrible thing happened: a scene. The two sisters caused a ruckus because one refused to communicate with the other and Queen Elsa, agitated and gloveless, formed ice shards in a semi-circle around her – please do not ask me how she does it; I do not know. There were no casualties, thankfully. Her Majesty froze a few fountains, the whole fjord, and to top it all off she ran towards the mountains.</p><p>The town – I cannot, in good conscience, call it a city – was in uproar and dear Weselton shook like an angry cat soaked in rainwater. He suspected Anna of possessing the same powers as her sister and got offended when I said he simply slipped on ice.</p><p>You will be extremely cross with me now for what I am about to write: Princess Anna decided that she will search for her sister alone because ‘they are sisters and would never hurt each other’.</p><p>Now, it could be that I am cynical towards this sentiment due to the fact that Queen Elsa had literally manifested lethal shards with the intent to keep Princess Anna away, but it is rude to intrude onto the family affairs of others so I relented. She named me regent, which was both flattering and concerning for there were many older men present. I should think they would have naturally taken control of the situation as they were more experienced; I was wrong.</p><p>All those years of you forcing me to learn how to manage the Solvborg estate came in handy as I allocated cloaks and capes to the locals, who suffered from the consequences of Queen Elsa’s outburst.</p><p>Allow me to explain: she had triggered a winter out of the blue. Snow fell from the sky and the warm breeze of the incoming summer months were crushed by the winter chill. The comparison that comes to mind are the accusations made against witches of old for cooking foul weather. I swear I do not exaggerate for there really was a winter at the end of spring; it was something like out a fairy tale.</p><p>I don’t remember much of what occurred in that timespan as everything was a blur. What I do remember is the Duke of Weselton chasing me around, demanding to know why I gave away Arendelle’s resources to the locals, and on top of that I had to deal with tiresome foreign dignitaries. Most were double, if not triple, my age and they were twice as useless as regular soldiers and guards who actually aided me in my efforts.</p><p>Princess Anna’s horse returned the day after her departure and it returned alone. Of course, we were all worried because she left the town dressed in a ball gown so a group of men and I went in search of her. Thank <em>heavens</em> I was obstinate enough to pack a winter coat and did not let Emil talk me out of it.</p><p>When we reached the top of the mountain, we saw the strangest sight in the world: a palace made entirely of ice. It was beautiful and appeared to be ethereal, though I do not have the faintest idea of how a person would live in a place like it. At the end of the day, we are only human and it is made of ice.</p><p>Like any self-respecting abode, this palace of ice had its very own footman made of snow. It was several meters tall, had a fearsome maw, and a desire to throw us down the cliffs. I will not get into the details of the following confrontation for the sake of your and Grandmother’s hearts but know that God had preserved me and we managed to return Queen Elsa to Arendelle.</p><p>You will never believe what sort of shackles a soldier discovered in the dungeons: iron ‘mittens’ which cover the whole of the hand. As I mentioned earlier, the queen manifested ice when gloveless and it explains her keenness to wear them at all times. I suspect these unique shackles were commissioned by her own parents, presumably to be used in the case of her being a threat to them.</p><p>I visited Her Majesty in the dungeons, where she told me that she does not know how to undo the winter. Fantastic, isn’t it? You taught me the importance of a stiff upper lip and of making do in challenging situations, still I must admit my patience was running thin. How does a woman, <em>a sovereign</em>, doom her land to a winter and ask to be released without reversing the damage?</p><p>The conversation dampened my spirits and I hid myself away in a parlor; the Duke of Weselton and the dignitaries ambushed me soon after. I was just about to ask HSH to lower his voice when in walked Princess Anna, cold and shivering with snowy-white hair. So much of not hurting one another, eh?</p><p>How do I say this next part without upsetting my own sensibilities? I pray you will not inform my parents of this because they are already upset with the dignitaries and the last thing we need is for Mama to wish bloody murder on the Duke and Arendellian servants. You see, HSH and the dignitaries and the staff immediately departed when Princess Anna insisted that I kiss her.</p><p>Dear Grandfather, if I had followed proper judgment and subdued my affections earlier on then I should have escaped this great unhappiness. Lord knows that I am guilty of proposing far too quickly – that is my cross to bear – but I think it is very reasonable that my affections wilted upon seeing the consequences of reckless magic. The queen essentially told me that this winter will never cease and that hardened my heart towards Arendelle entirely; I’ve no wish to call such an irresponsible monarch my kin.</p><p>Saying that, I may have…I may have let my theatrical side get the best of me. Had I any sense in my head then I would have made up some excuse. Although when did I ever distinguish myself with pure rationality?</p><p>After escaping that horribly uncomfortable situation, a servant informed me that Queen Elsa had escaped the dungeons and became the epicenter of a blizzard. The dignitaries apparently do not know how to do anything (I will excuse the passive behavior of Weselton in this case due to his mature age), forcing me to go out into the cold and find Her Majesty. At this point, I wanted nothing to do with the House of Agnarr and I pity Arendelle for its queen and princess are mad.</p><p>As Queen Elsa was desirous of returning to the mountains – having forgotten that her subjects will die unless the flash winter is undone –, I decided to go for the tried and true method of dealing with supernatural beings: slaying them. It worked for my royal grandfather and great-grandfather and Weselton believed it to be the only way to set everything to right. The dignitaries did not fight him on it and I, the youngest and most agile in the company, was chosen to be the one forced to bloody his hands.</p><p>Thankfully, my hands were not sullied by the virtue (though virtue is not the exact word I’d apply to the situation) of a monstrously strange circumstance which instantly justified my father’s anxiety towards the supernatural. As wild as my imagination is, it could not in a million years come up with the following – Princess Anna turned into an ice statue. Her flesh, her blood, and, for some reason, her clothes turned into solid ice. My sword shattered upon impact with her frozen hand and I cannot tell you what happened immediately after as I had been pushed? thrown? by magical forces several feet away from where Queen Elsa wept against her now-icy sister.</p><p>Minutes later (and I am still livid about this) the Queen <strong>undoes the winter of her own making</strong> – though I remind that less than an hour ago she stated that it was beyond her abilities – and those dignitaries switched allegiances faster than bastard children turn against their trueborn siblings. Those turncloaks now supported the House of Agnarr. My one ally was the Duke of Weselton and the poor man suffered as Arendelle cut ties with his nation. His sole comfort is the knowledge that their nation shall deteriorate more rapidly as a result.</p><p>On a more positive note, Weselton’s men are grateful that I saved their lives up in the mountains. I failed to mention this earlier in fear of harming your delicate health but, in the most delicate terms I can muster, Queen Elsa almost killed Erik and Francis. I refuse to go into details. I would hate to frighten Grandmama, therefore I must ask you to tell her that I am whole. Everything is in its righteous place from top to toe. You will be curious as to what exactly occurred in on the cliffs and I promise to inform you on the matter entirely when I come visit.</p><p>Please have the goodness of giving my kindest regards to Grandmother, Uncle Ivar, Aunt Mikaela, and to all my cousins. To you, my beloved Grandfather, I send my tender love, warmest wishes, and a request to keep me in your prayers. Now <em>adieu! </em>Your devoted and most faithful grandson,</p><p>Hans W.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Solvborg Palace, Isle of Jordsand</p><p>June, 18—</p><p>My dearest Hansel,</p><p>Your letter caused a riot in my household! I cannot express my relief in knowing that you are well; your Grandmama called for the carriage and set off to church the second after we read your missive to pray to God and the next day we went to church together so you have most definitely been in the forefront of our prayers.</p><p>I will be frank and say that I have understood very little of what you have written, but I am exceedingly pleased that you have broken your engagement with Princess Anna. I will obviously chase you with my cane as punishment for not gaining my consent first and then Grandmother shall spoil you rotten with lemon cakes, sweet meats, and everything you desire. You must visit us soon for she is uneasy and worried and will not be calmed until she sees your handsome face with her own eyes. Then perhaps, once her fear has lulled, you will be generous enough to explain this whole ice-turning phenomenon which left me baffled.</p><p>We are also gladdened to be made aware of your blossoming acquaintanceship with Weselton’s boys in spite of theirs being your social inferiors by quite a margin. Judging by your words, their master is as insufferable and loud as I last remember him. Good to know that in this ever-changing world Weselton remains himself!</p><p>I am much amused by your description of the Queen’s coronation – especially the part about the globus cruciger and the holy scepter – and have spread the word amongst your cousins (who are very eager to see you, too); we had such a merry laugh over it during supper. Your writing is praiseworthy, my dearest, but I am afraid you will have to repeat it when you come to us for you have wonderful voice for stories.</p><p>I hope to hear more from you soon regarding the current predicament in which you have found yourself. I know in my heart that you will be perfectly fine and your safety is guaranteed; my soul knows that you have acted as best you could in spite of the poor circumstances thrown at you by destiny’s hand. It is a pity that sturdy, pleasant, excellent Runeard – may he rest in peace – passed before putting those monstrous trolls and goblins and other supernatural devils to the sword and bullet.</p><p>We will talk of everything and more when arrive at my home but, for now, you must accept all the love that your Grandmother and I send to you. Please give our regards to your excellent parents – remember to kiss your mama for me – and your dear brothers. <em>Adieu! </em>My dear grandchild, and remember that I am your forever-loving,</p><p>Grandfather J.</p><p>P.S. Your cousin Rodrik has told me that there are people – specifically Arendellian idiots who wish to marry those girls themselves – who slander your good name. Do not let those treacherous words eat away your liveliness, my dearest. I committed many deeds to bother your grandfather the King and still managed to wed my daughter, your mother, to his son and live a long, respectable life.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>That's it for Personal Hans Week, folks!!! This was so much fun and I hope ya'll enjoyed it as well✨🎉</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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